Port O’Brien / Vetiver / Bright Eyes
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
March 10, 2007
On the second of Bright Eyes’ two sold-out nights at the Great American Music Hall, Oakland’s Port O’Brien stopped by to open the show with enough wattage and enthusiasm to match the already amped crowd. Shaking his straight blonde hair and strumming his guitar with sincere, commanding fervor, founding member Van Pierszalowski gave a performance that was not to be forgotten. Port O’Brien’s guitar-driven pop was purely fun and friendly, while at the same time bearing an almost chaotic urgency in its harmonic, screaming choruses.
San Francisco quintet Vetiver took the stage next, appearing as though they had just walked off an old wagon train. Whereas Port O’Brien got the most sound possible from all its players onstage, Vetiver accentuated the subtleties — arguably an even more difficult feat. One would instantly assume that the band’s founder/lead singer/guitarist Andy Cabic came from the golden hills of California, as his sun-soaked and timeless folk songs filled the room. Shifting moods and rotating instrumentation, Vetiver kept the set from dragging, sauntering seamlessly down a stomping, finger-picking path to a haunted psychedelic road, all the way out to a spacey — yet dusty — jam.
After a set change that seemed to last an eternity, the lights went down and Omaha’s indie heroes came out to meet a room full of applause and squeals. Jumping right into “Everything Must Belong Somewhere,” Conor Oberst (with hair down to his shoulders) sang with knowing confidence, “Leave the ocean’s roar in that turquoise shell / Leave the widower in his private hell / Leave the liberty in that broken bell today ... ‘Cause everything must belong somewhere ... I know that now, that’s why I’m staying here.”
Eloquent and profound as ever, his lyrics proved especially telling tonight. Oberst, now 27, has matured quite a bit since the Fevers and Mirrors and Lifted days. However, the crowd was clearly waiting for a glimpse of his past turmoil, and though they were pleased to hear the many new full-sounding and spirited songs from the band’s latest Four Winds EP and full-length album, Cassadega, that dominated the night’s set, they went wild for tracks off 2005’s I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning.
Joining Oberst on stage were Jake Bellows (Neva Dinova), Mike Mogis, Nate Wolcott, and West Coast notables Rachel Blumberg (Norfolk & Western) on drums and the Bay Area’s Anton Patzner (Judgement Day) on violin and bass. To the audience’s surprise, M. Ward also made an appearance halfway through the set, remaining on stage all the way through Bright Eyes’ encore, but staying out of the spotlight completely.
Before the night ended, Oberst brought out “Laura Laurent” from Lifted and so poignantly belted out, “It’s the ones with the sorest throats who’ve done the most singing. Everybody!” And everybody chimed in — “la, la, la, la, la, la, la” — finally, some words the audience knew.
-Review & photo by Katherine Hoffert
Clipse / Cool Nutz / Dyme Def / J-Mar
Chop Suey
Seattle, WA
March 13, 2007
When Virginia Beach’s Clipse come to town, they tend to bring out the hardest of the hard, even in a rap scene as new to the game as Seattle’s. Touring in support of 2006’s phenomenal Hell Hath No Fury, the duo brought all the grit, grime and shine that the tiny venue could hold, while the local acts did their best to keep the audience involved until the main act took the stage.
Starting the night out a cappella, J-Mar displayed his clear, percussive voice that was disappointingly lost amidst his rambling entourage. He spat tense street rhymes over cacophonous beats and it became increasingly difficult to follow as more and more co-stars joined him on Chop Suey’s tiny stage.
 The crowdedness of J-Mar’s performance directly contrasted with the Kid ‘n Play-cool of Seattle’s “space music” trio, Dyme Def. The three had obviously been performing together for a very long time and were the only act of the night with a sense of humor. Dyme Def brought a bright energy and enthusiasm to the otherwise fairly dark atmosphere, and although they didn’t really rap about anything, it was a lot of fun to witness this small rap family.
Portland’s Cool Nutz refreshingly brought along a turntablist, an element missing from the rest of the evening, and the difference was immediately evident. While a Macintosh is great for basement recording, something is lost when the scratching DJ is taken out of the mix.
Nutz’s DJ dropped soul-shaking bass beats perfect for rhyming over — bass that could make a person feel nauseous. Nutz used ample amounts of call and response to guide himself through his songs, which were standard hip-hop fare.
But all of the posturing and nepotism was more than worth it once Clipse took the stage. Their entire performance was filled with the urgency of the desperate, and it was apparent in their words and delivery that they lived the life they rhymed about. Alarmingly loud gunshots punctuated every song and the banter in between, and for a moment they transferred the crowd at Chop Suey to a back alley drug deal.
Of course, there was dancing, but that didn’t keep the dark street stories of brothers Pusha-T and Malice from sinking in. Perhaps the most electrifying song of the night was “Wamp Wamp,” which had Clipse — with their Re-Up Gang — bathed in green light and flexing about getting out of the grasps of the FBI.
Though it was a long climb to the top of the mountain, Clipse made the trip well worth it and ended the night with a bang.
-Review by Rob Bergquist; photos by Fel Pajimula
Silversun Pickups / OK Go / Snow Patrol
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
San Francisco, CA
March 1, 2007
L.A.’s Silversun Pickups opened the show and easily delivered the most energetic and authentic performance of the evening. The short-lived 30-minute set hardly did the band justice, but it is safe to say that the audience got its money’s worth with just this opening act. All that was missing was an encore.
Playing songs off their 2006 full-length release, Carnavas, the band also brought out the moody track “Kissing Families” from their debut, Pikul.
Silversun Pickups are easy on the eyes and ears, and though arena shows are not their familiar territory, the Bill Graham actually served them well. Joseph Lester’s electronics were especially prominent — most notably on “Future Foe Scenarios” — as they buzzed around drummer Christopher Guanlao’s snare rolls and teased Brian Aubert’s throaty vocals. Nikki Monninger’s bass held the melody of Aubert’s gritty guitar and fit the introspective tone of his vocals well.
After thanking San Francisco for always being so nice to them and acknowledging that local radio station Live 105 was one of the first stations to play “Lazy Eye,” Aubert jumped into the song, and the band ended their quick set with a rush of momentum.
Clad in matching retro geek suits, OK Go took the stage next. Compared to the previous act, the mood they created felt a little flat and contrived. They are definitely into aesthetics. Funky avant-garde films played on a projection screen behind them as they performed their popular hits like “Here It Goes Again” and “Get Over It.” It was almost as if they were trying to channel a ‘70s acid rock feel into melodies far too poppy to match. But it was also very evident that they were having fun on stage. They were also not afraid to ham it up for the audience, asking the crowd to hold up lit cell phones during one ballad.
Finally, Scotland-based Snow Patrol took the stage for their biggest American gig to date, and it seemed that they really took it to heart without taking themselves too seriously. During “Chasing Cars,” lead singer Gary Lightbody eased the mood and acknowledged the quintessential make-out song by telling everyone to grab the person nearest to them and pucker up, regardless of actually knowing each other.
They started their set with a lot of energy and fast-paced rock tunes, as if stepping straight out of an iPod commercial. However, the vigor fizzled out towards the end of the show after a few too many back-to-back slow-paced ballads and melodies. Overall, this was not a bad effort for their first full-fledged American tour.
-Nicole Sheikh
The Dead Science / Parenthetical Girls / This Song Is A Mess But So Am I / Daughters Tremaine / Ancient Plague Mummy Massacre Incarnate Osiris
The Smell
Los Angeles, CA
March 17, 2007
An alternative performance space located in downtown L.A., The Smell featured a selection of mostly West Coast performers with a disparate mix of styles this past St. Patrick’s Day. In fact, the contrast between bands was so pronounced that it could have been jarring in the wrong setting, but with two live spaces within the venue — one large and one small — the sets alternated smoothly between one another.
The duo Ancient Plague Mummy Massacre Incarnate Osiris of Flagstaff, Arizona performed first, mixing hardcore screaming with metal guitar riffs and synthesizer loops. Its members share a fascination with Egyptian mythology and alchemy, hence the band’s lengthy name. APMMIO played The Smell’s smaller space with an immediacy that heightened the in-your-face intensity of their material.
 L.A.’s Daughters Tremaine is a five-piece combo composed of four women and one man. Their live sound incorporates everything from Spanish guitar to circus music to 1960s girl groups to The Bangles.
All of the female Daughters displayed both their lovely voices, harmonizing to great effect, and their admirable musicianship, even incorporating a flute. Sporting almost matching alterna-outfits and many guitars, the Daughters seemed like The Carter Family updated for the new millennium.
This Song Is A Mess But So Am I is L.A. solo artist Freddy Ruppert, who performed his set in the smaller space with amazing audience interaction. His sound is next-gen techno, owing a lot to Moby, with bells, whistles and loops of British-accented spoken word connecting each song. Dissonance, jackhammer percussiveness, Ian Curtis intonation and insane dancing made his performance a memorable one.
 Parenthetical Girls are a four piece from Portland and their frontman, Zac Pennington, is another fine singer and gifted stage performer who physically resembles a glam-rock version of Beck.
During the band’s set, Pennington’s hands expressed as much as his words, telling a story independently like those of a Siamese dancer. Performing mutated pop (the glockenspiel is indispensable), Parenthetical Girls’ zenith came with a cover of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s new wave classic “Joan of Arc,” complete with violin and crashing cymbals.
The Dead Science, a trio hailing from Seattle, was the final band of the night. Though the band shares some fluid membership with friends Parenthetical Girls, it delivered a very different kind of set — moody art-rock with goth touches that looped and flailed from almost dead silence to disturbing loudness. With fuzzbox guitar and Sam Micken’s alternately gruff and falsetto singing, this set took the night to extremes.
-Review by Susan Brooks; photo by Lowell Abellon
The Airborne Toxic Event / Low vs. Diamond / Radars to the Sky / The Happy Hollows
The Echo
Los Angeles, CA
March 5, 2007
It is easy to forget that Los Angeles-area bands are as varied musically and stylistically as the very people who live within the city. So when the opportunity arises to see four different genres come together all in one night, it’s fun to be reminded that such musical diversity exists in the confines of one location.On this occasion, The Airborne Toxic Event enjoyed its first residency at The Echo and was joined by Low vs. Diamond, Radars to the Sky and The Happy Hollows.
Opening the night with bouncy pop reminiscent of Albert Hammond Jr. were Radars to the Sky. While the band’s music had a snappy, polished appeal, the abrasive nature of lead singer Andrew Spitser’s vocals clashed with their clean sound and detracted a bit from their set.
Low vs. Diamond was the surprise of the night, in that the Los Angeles five-piece opened second but stole the thunder from every other band on the bill, playing like seasoned pros ready to rock an arena. Their sound, look and style bore an uncanny resemblance to that of The Strokes, and at times had a hint of the dark, ominous characteristics of Muse. Lead singer Lucas Field channeled Julian Casablancas in his gritty vocal delivery. Their set ranged from percussive, heavy subway rock to slower, reverb-reliant piano tunes, as the quintet exuded great control and stage presence.
 Self-described “ghettotech” band The Airborne Toxic Event, for some odd reason, is still unsigned. Seeing the band play live made it immediately evident that its members were destined to find each other — each one had phenomenal stage presence and their chemistry together elevated the night into a funkified dance extravaganza. Musically, they sounded like an interesting mix of Franz Ferdinand’s heavy bass crossed with the bouncy tech-pop of Architecture in Helsinki.
Closing the evening were L.A. indie darlings The Happy Hollows — a female-led trio resembling The White Stripes in their minimalist sound. Singer Sarah Negahdari’s voice conjured up the high-pitched and brash tones of Portishead’s Beth Gibbons and The Happy Hollows brought a fun, live dynamic to the night.
Though The Airborne Toxic Event and Low vs. Diamond were the undeniable stars of the evening, all in all, the night was a great showcase of L.A talent.
-Review by Jen Tartaglione; photos by Kim Huynh |
